How do slim people think?

[Episcomama]

...because I really do think there is a difference between how slim and overweight people think. I am very overweight - BMI of 33. So obese rather than overweight, technically.

I've been off and on diets all my adult life, and the only thing I've really had success with is intermittent fasting and keto. When I stick to it, it works. The problem isn't my body, it's my mind. It's as though there's a switch that gets flicked from time to time. A voice in my head telling me to eat in case of famine. Food occupies much of my waking hours - once I've had a meal I'm thinking ahead to the next one.

A dear friend is very slim and once mentioned that she just doesn't really find satisfaction in food in the way I do (comfort, commiseration, celebration, whatever.) When I spent the weekend with her recently, it really became apparent how differently we see food. She was mildly horrified at both the quantity and frequency of my meals whereas I couldn't understand how she was satisfied with what she ate.

Eating disorders aside, do you think there's a difference between a "thin mind" and a "fat mind", to express it crudely. And if you have a thin mind and used to have a fat mind, can you share with me how you flicked that switch?

I'm slim, 5'6" and at 45 weigh in at exactly the same 8 stone 2-4 (depending on my cycle) I did at 15.

I love to eat, love to cook, really enjoy my food. I have never dieted, always completely ignored the latest advice. Never ate low fat, it's disgusting, and am currently happily ignoring low carb and continuing to eat massive bowls of pasta at least twice if not more times a week. I love pasta. Lasagne is the food of the gods.

I love meat, I love vegetables, I love crustaceans. I love a nice glass of wine. I'm already thinking about tea at 8.45 in the morning (pasta arrabiata with a green salad dressed in a classic vinaigrette, and garlic bread is what I'm thinking).

I don't, however, have a sweet tooth. I quite like a doughnut now and again, or a fruit pie or crumble but wouldn't care if chocolate vanished off the face of the planet, never did get the fuss.

I also never eat breakfast and don't remember ever having done so though I must have as a small child. The thought of eating before about 11am turns y stomach so I generally have an early dinner, maybe soup or a salad or a roll and slice and onions or poached eggs bacon and watercress on toast .......mmmmmmmmmm..food.... then a substantial tea sometime between 5 and 9 depending what shift I'm working. And probably some crackers and cheese, or cheese on toast, or a piece and cheese for supper.

I lied about lasagne, cheese is the food of the gods. Cheddar, Cheshire, Wensleydale, Parmesan, Gouda, Jarlsberg, Stilton, Camembert, Brie, Crowdie, Gorgonzola.............I draw the line at that Italian cheese with maggots in it but otherwise all cheese is good cheese. Mmmmmmmmmm......cheese.

I'm also very active. Walk a lot, cycle to work in summer, swim, dabble in martial arts, run sometimes, potter in my garden, am on my feet and lifting heavyish weights at work.

I've forgotten the question now, too busy thinking about food.

Arnold you are what I call lucky!

I've been very slim in the past and was a size 8 before I got pregnant. I'm now 9 months pp and about a stone overweight.

To be slim I have to think about it all the time and make active choices. Reducing alcohol and sugar are the two biggest things that I normally do. While pregnant my sugar consumption went up a lot hence the extra stone! Basically, for me being slim takes mental effort and being overweight doesn't require any thought at all.

I don't really find exercise makes any difference to my weight but it does make me look more toned. So I don't bother except before holidays

It is tricky - I am overweight and DH is thin bordering on underweight. He eats more than me and is often shocked that I can just look at a piece of cake and put on weight.

There was a show earlier this year or last year where celebrities ate junk food to see the effect on the body. Peter Andre was on it and it was quite interesting as he was really affected. They did an MRI (I think) on him that showed that during the process his actual brain responses to food changed so his need and pleasure from the food became a lot more once he started eating the fatty foods and gained weight.

I think there is a difference between the people I know who are slim and me along those same lines. Slim people can love and enjoy food as much, but I know that the response is stronger. It did seem to be that losing the weight and eating healthily did help change the brain processes, but you have to get to that part first and it is the initial 'willpower' that is the often downfall.

Im slim, size 6 and generally eat whatever I want however I am often shocked at how little exercise people do and that’s probably why they are fat.

It’s not even that I consciously exercise but I mean in day to day life I move about much more than an average person. In fact if I spend my day sitting watching TV I feel disgusting!

I have always been slim and have been able to eat whatever I like , my appetite is huge, I have a very sweet tooth and could eat packets of biscuits in one go. I am going through the menopause and notice that I’m gaining weight, so it’s now a matter of will power- if I go to eat biscuits, I tell myself that I can’t and I don’t.

I'm slim too, always have been, and I can't subscribe to the 'slim people are scared about putting on the pounds, so they skip meals/mind their diet' or even worse 'slim people don't see food as enjoyable '.

There's nothing like a good crêpe with brown sugar or a good piece of cake. There's nothing like a good meal at a restaurant. But I'm not one for eating for the sake of it.

Both my parents are slim and small (1.60m-odd like me) as are/were pretty much the rest of my family on both sides. Paradoxically, I'll often eat more than my parents when they come to visit.

What there was, though, was always everything in moderation. When I see my husband scoff a whole bag of wine gums in not even a whole evening, I despair. We never had crisps in the house, unless there was a special occasion, biscuits (a strict limit of 3) were for after school/work/mid afternoon, other sweet stuff like chocolate, marzipan, or confectionary was one piece each (me and both my parents, I'm an only child) for dessert at lunch and then there was dessert in the evening, which could be chocolate mousse or a piece of fruit, depending. It wasn't about finances either. On Saturdays and Sundays, we had pastries for lunch or breakfast.

Especially the strict limit of 3 biscuits has stuck and I never eat more than 3 sweets/biscuits when I am at home, even if there is more in the cupboard (I may have done when I was a teenager though). They also taste so much nicer if you know there's only a limited supply.

I just don't understand how hands full of crisps or bags full of sweets can be so tempting.

I am reading with interest. I was 19 stone in February and am on the way Y to losing 4 stone. I need to lose another 3 at least. I have formed good habits with food now. I am eainh healthy and losing weight slowly. But I think about food constantly and feel oi am being deprived f stuff. For example my colleagues have brought in donuts whicj I will politely decline but secretly craving. It is willpower x 100. I still have a bmi of 31 and would like to end up 28 ish so I don't want to be a skinny minny.

Apparently according to those weighing machines in Boots, the ones that calculate your BMI, for my height I could be 7 stone something at the lightest and 10 stone something at the heaviest, now I would look really ill if I was 7 stone something and look fat if I was over 10 stone! I haven’t weighed myself for years but the last time I did I was 9 stone 7, and imo this sounds huge because I know many women my height and age who are like 8 and a half stone, maybe I have more muscle than them although I don’t work out so how the hell would I, but I kind of liking having a bit of an arse, I have small boobs so I need something womanly about me, I just don’t want a huge arse!

I used to be very slim cause I hardly ate. I'd have a good lunch normally though. But with the kids I'm snacking all the time and easily a size 12 or even 14 if I'm not paying attention. It doesn't sound too big but I'm quite short. I just bring satsumas with me for a snacks or a cucumber and tomato salad with salt and vinegar dressing. It's hard work keeping the weight off.

When I made the decision to be healthy it came after quite a long period of observing myself, my eating patterns and observing how slim people are, and taking my head out of the sand (fridge). I had to admit, accept, that I was slowly killing myself, was very unhappy how I was, and that slim healthy people had it right, and they were eating 'like normal people' and I really wasn't. I knew any kind of diet was not the answer, they never work. I needed to eat normally and that's what I did. I had to understand that feeling stuffed was not a desirable feeling. Feeling just full enough is normal. Feeling genuinely hungry is normal. Skipping a meal here and there because of Life, is normal.

It helps that I remembered being a thin child and adult. It must be difficult without that memory, and I feel very sorry for children who grow up overweight.

A different take.

I have a sweet tooth and like to eat - sometimes you could say I binge? 1000 calories in snacks in one sitting etc. I don't feel guilty or bad about it. This is just who I am and is try not to judge myself. I like healthy food and exercise but also enjoy junk food.

But then I suffer from anxiety and if I go through a bad patch my appetite disappears. If it's bad, I can't eat at all. If it's really bad I will vomit. It can carry on for days which will lead to weight loss. Also any time I am ill - colds, temperatures etc my appetite vanishes and takes ages to go back to normal.

Via this I have stayed at a bmi of 21-22. I have been just a bit poorly for a couple of weeks now and I have dropped to bmi of 20.

So don't assume there is a "thin way of thinking". This is the way my life is and I accept it but I'd much rather not have anxiety or not have a soft spot for junk food.

I've noticed that naturally slim people don't eat for pleasure, just to function.

That's a bit of a sweeping statement! I'm slim and I love food. I eat a lot (compared to my partner and child) but I'm very active and get hungry really quickly. I've always thought the key to staying slim is to eat the best quality food you can afford, don't snack between meals, and take plenty of exercise. Don't obsess about food. And NEVER fall into the 'diet' trap because all they do is mess up your metabolism by teaching your body it's in crisis and needs to store more fat. Eat what you need to power your day. If you're overweight, eat a little bit less than you think you need to power your day. It really is as simple as that and there's no mystery to it despite what (mainly) women are brainwashed to believe.

I have always been slim and I do love food. But I tend to eat small portions.. I don’t tend to snack, Snacking between meals was frowned on as was eating in the street when I was a child. There is also a genetic disposition towards type 2 diabetes which three of my much older siblings have . They started to be diagnosed when I was around 30. The thought scared me so at that point I didn’t cut out completely but decided to cut down on empty calories, so alcohol and anything junk food like is rarely touched. My mother was slim all her life. She managed to control being borderline diabetic by food and I hope I can do the same.

I really really enjoy and appreciate my food now. I taste every mouthful! A piece of cake is a genuine treat, not just a matter of stuffing it in.

I am slim (ish) but not naturally so. My metabolism is slow, and I was very over weight when I was younger.
I have an internal battle every day with food because I love it, especially sweet things.
I have to plan what I'm going to eat and I find if I do that I can stick to eating the right amounts (Which are surprisingly small) of the right things. The real issue is how bored I get with it.
But then I'm also vain enough to be miserable when I'm larger and feel much better and more confident when I'm thinner. So basically I'm never really happy one way or another.
I never realised before how central this all is to be psyche and confidence and just general happiness.

I love food - I am sort of slim but getting that middle aged spread coming in and I have to watch what I eat a lot more. It’s boring and it means I have to think more actively about what I’m eating too (and move more).
I am a bit of an emotional eater too which doesn’t help, I suppose I ‘think’ like a slim
Person in that if I’ve eaten too much one day, I’ll eat less the next.

I am also very overweight but am losing it now. The difference is very much how my mind is working. Now I start to think about food when I'm genuinely hungry whereas before it was constant. Food dominated my thoughts and I couldn't control what I ate.

So what's the key that flipped the switch? Sleep. Less sleep means more food. I was diagnosed with severe sleep apnea and once I started getting treated my thoughts changed completely. Also I need 8 hours of sleep. 7 hours and I'm thinking about food again.

I saw a programme on sleep the other day and it said that lack of sleep increases the hormone that tells your brain you're hungry and reduces the one that tells your brain you're full. I've found this is 100% correct.

I think for many slimmer people it is just where they aren’t bothered about food really. At work there are people already salivating over their evening meal in the morning. Cake comes out and everyone gets super excited. I am quite slim but it’s not really through putting myself through denial/hardship. The flip side is that food is one of life’s pleasures but not something I really get/enjoy.

Mythical I am the same as you with anxiety and not eating when I feel like this, I don’t vomit but if I haven’t eaten for a day or more then I feel sick as soon as I put my toothbrush in my mouth.

I agree about less sleep making you think of food more, if I don’t get enough sleep then I get a strange taste in my mouth all day which tells my brain I’m hungry and I wont stop eating, it’s very odd, does anyone else feel this way?

I'm fairly slim and petite - been a size 10 for about a decade (I'm 37). I love food, obsessed with food, worked in the food industry, cook daily, eat out weekly... it's my life.

I can put on weight VERY quickly if I don't use some freewill, but I respect my body more, and like to fuel it with nutritious things, and occasionally indulge and really treat myself. It's all about balance. I just know how incredibly damaging how eating how I really want to eat would be for my body and refrain 95% of the time.

I was 12-14 in my early twenties and I regret it hugely. I never felt confident or sexy, and remember always feeling tired and sluggish.

If I had heavy weekends, I hold back on Monday and Tuesday to find some balance.

Weight loss is much harder than avoiding weight gain. I've never been overweight but the only time I tried to loose wt (having gained a little bit) I found it really hard so I at least understand the struggle a bit.

I think many slim people enjoy food but probably mostly non processed food. It is much easier to consume too many calories if you eat processed food. Also in my experience many very overweight people consume most of their calories in the evening after ? depriving themselves all day. I'm not suggesting that calories consumed in the evening stick but more that the cycle of depriving oneself and then 'giving in' completely is not helpful.

I've also found that a lot of people who are overweight feel that foods that I would view as treats should be part of non overweight family members daily diets- crisps, biscuits, sweets etc. So the overweight Mum says ' I have to have these things in the house otherwise it's cruel for the children'. I don't feel it's cruel and don't have that kind of stuff in the house most of the time.

I'm sure there are lots of exceptions but I have spent a lot of time (as part of my job) talking to people about their weight and diets.

I'm slim, in my 40's, and ponder this sometimes. I love my food but probably eat more nutritious food but in smaller portions than other people.

I've put on 4lbs this year, I realised it last month. It seems to happen every few years when I've under exercised and over snacked. But the moment I realised my work trousers were getting snug I weighed myself and mentally my brain switched back to fewer snacks and making sure I exercise a bit more. It's not hard for me and I realise many people aren't that lucky.

Our family seem to be prone to heart disease so I make sure I keep my health in check. Hopefully I'm delaying that stent or bypass for a couple more decades. Also, my clothes have to fit and I can't afford a new wardrobe the next up.